A slightly demented but yet oddly positive perspective of Greek life from an expat American/Irish point of view.
~~~

Friday, August 14, 2009

Vacations are for other people

We're having a wonderful time at home!

We had a visitor this morning.

He was waiting at the kitchen door. The cats brought him. (Yes. My idiot Buddhist cats...) They may have "thought" about eating him, but it was such a fleeting wisp of a thought, it passed quickly though their tiny minds.

My dear T, graciously scooped him up and moved him to the grass, so I could come outside without troubling him (or spilling my tea when I jumped up to stand on the chair.) One does become, generally speaking, accepting of the wildlife that we share this place with, but at times it's a rather discomforting acceptance on both sides.

(Vipers, for instance, are NOT welcome. Mice we are slightly intolerant of in the house. Outside, they are fine. Spiders and mosquitoes are annoying but obviously too numerous to eliminate. Wasps, millipedes, and scorpions, that find their way into the house, are generally, promptly (and relentlessly!) dealt with.)

I think it's good that there's something annoying and "dangerous" to balance out our Paradise.

~~~

As we've been on "vacation" with houseguests for most of the summer, today seems a good time to get to a few those little annoying things that I should have gotten around to earlier in the summer out of the way.

So yes, I cleaned out the freezer, to make way for new arrivals from the garden. AND I have been going through my backlog of blog readings, as well as clearing out my email files (I always forget to empty the spam folder... and of course I always find something IN the spam folder that shouldn't be there...).

T went to play golf this afternoon so I took the dog for her walk. Nothing reminds you more that you are in Greece but the August afternoons.

The dry ground, the sound of the cicadas, the hot sun and the surprising cool of the shade, but it's also about the smell. The dry grasses and the wild thyme and oregano are fragrant with the smell of August in Greece.

It's not at all difficult to remind myself that people come to visit us - not only because we're nice people, but because we are lucky enough to live in an absolutely gorgeous place. And sometimes, I think it's really nice to take a vacation and just stay home!

As this is a holiday weekend in Greece, and tomorrow is the Assumption -of the Mother of Jesus into heaven- not "a proposition that is taken for granted, as if it were true based upon presupposition without preponderance of the facts" - and everything- everywhere- will be closed more tightly than usual.

To the Greeks this holiday is right up there with Easter or Christmas. There will be parades, and music and fireworks. All in all a good time will be had by all. Sadly we will NOT being going into town for the celebrations. For me crowds of celebrants are not vacation-like. I am very glad they are having a nice time and I remember being with friends and having an absolutely wonderful time in town.It just doesn't sound very appealing any more.

THIS does. All empty and quiet except for screeching birds, weird insects and the odd lizard. And I don't even mind taking the dog for a walk! (Though next time I will probably wear long pants, as the nettles and other scratchy plants were eager to leave their mark!)

Why the Title?

Prospero was a an Italian Lord, stranded on Corfu, who dabbled in magic.

Prospero and Miranda (his daughter) lived in a cave on the island which was also inhabited by Ariel, a sprite who carried out the bidding of Prospero, and the ugly, half human Caliban.

Prospero roiled up the Tempest and one of Shakespeare's greatest comedies was born.~~~Lawrence Durrell wrote a book about the magic of Corfu- He called it Prospero's Cell- named after a cave purported to belong to the true Prospero.

Then too, no one had cellphones yet.

Cellphones have become the new "magic"... now everyone who owns one is a magician. When a person talks on their cellphone, the person in front of them immediately becomes invisible!

Here in Greece, it never ceases to amaze me, how it is impossible for a Greek NOT to answer a cellphone. No matter what you are doing- no matter what HE is doing!